We walk alongside young people who are homeless or at risk every day. Right now, the gap between what young people need and what’s available is wider than we’ve ever seen.
We need to address the gap
What “no bed available” really means
It starts with a phone call. A young person, or someone worried about them, asks if there’s a bed available tonight. When there isn’t, our team does what they can. They check other services and help with food or essentials. Without a bed, though, the options run out fast.
That moment is hard on young people and it’s hard on our team too. Saying no to someone who has asked for help is the part of the job nobody gets used to.
Young people aged 12 to 25 make up nearly a quarter of Australia’s homeless population. And too many of them hear “sorry, there’s no bed available” more than once.
The numbers keep climbing
This week, the Ending Child and Youth Homelessness Coalition, which Youth Futures is proud to be part of, released new data on youth homelessness in WA.
The data shows:
- Between January and June 2026, 19 youth accommodation services recorded more than 2,600 occasions where they couldn’t give a young person a bed, because there were none were available.
- On one night in August, 114 unaccompanied young people were sleeping rough in Perth and Rockingham.
- On that same night, there were zero youth accommodation beds available.
In March, that same count found 73 young people sleeping rough. Five months later, it’s 114.
“Its heartbreaking to see these number rise as despite all our best efforts to address the gap they continue to climb, which is something we continue to urgently call for action to address.”
– Michelle Jenkins, CEO | Youth Futures
What we see on the ground
The Coalition’s data matches what our teams see every day.
Last year, we had to turn away 2,898 young people as we didn’t have the capacity to support them. At Djinda, our 24/7 supported accommodation service, 546 of 609 requests had to be turned away for one reason.
As our Accommodation Services Coordinator Liz Lalor put it: “Not because the young person didn’t qualify. Not because the young person didn’t deserve to be there. Simply because there was no bed.”
Behind every one of those numbers is a young person who had the courage to reach out and ask for help.
What needs to change
We’re asking the WA Government to invest in a system that prevents youth homelessness and responds quickly when it does happen.
That means:
- More youth-specific accommodation, so no young person is told there’s no bed
- Investment in prevention and early intervention, so fewer young people reach that point
- Community-led youth hubs, bringing housing, mental health, education and employment support together in one place
“We support our colleagues in this call for action from the Government to address the lack of suitable accommodation and support for Young People across our community. In today’s world, no young person should be without their own bed in a safe environment. WA’s revenue surplus keeps increasing, but so does Youth Homelessness. Let’s stop this now and invest in prevention, early intervention and more Youth specific accommodation.”
– Michelle Jenkins, CEO | Youth Futures
Every young person deserves somewhere to call home
No young person should spend tonight with nowhere to go. The solutions are clear and what’s needed now is investment to match.
If you’re a young person who needs support, or you’re worried about a young person in your life, we’re here. You can contact our team here for more information.
If you’d like to help support our mission in providing wraparound support to young people experiencing homelessness, you can donate to our programs here.
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